


somewhere between a lover and a friend

by orphan_account



Category: Tiny Meat Gang (Band)
Genre: Bad ending lol sorry, Friends to Lovers, Friends w benefits, M/M, Making Out, Mild Sexual Content, Podcast, Smut, conflicted feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:08:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25302838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Cody squirms a bit like he’s about to get up, but Noel drops his hands to his thighs and holds him there with a firm squeeze. Cody sighs in defeat, saying in place, but Noel's hands don’t leave his thighs. “Sooo…” Cody starts, cocking his head to the side with a shy smile.
Relationships: Cody Ko & Noel Miller, Cody Ko/Noel Miller
Comments: 10
Kudos: 99





	somewhere between a lover and a friend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sincities](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sincities/gifts).



“Shh quiet Cody, there’s people next door.”

The hotel room fan is broken, the window is wide open, and Noel has a hand clamped over Cody’s mouth as he rolls his hips into him from behind. 

His skin is hot where it sticks to Cody’s and he pants into the shell of the blonde's ear. Cody’s been making breathy little whining noises that affect him more than he’d like to admit since the beginning, but what ends up pushing Noel over the edge is when Cody whines his name in the most wrecked voice he’d ever heard. 

He’s pulling up his shorts when he glances over to the bed and sees Cody looking back at him fondly. He looks soft, small and.. cute. Noel scoffs off the sudden gay panic and looks down at his shirt in his hands.

“What’s funny?” he hears Cody say, and just shakes his head in reply. 

He hears sheets shuffling and when he looks back over Cody is sitting up, propped up by his arms behind him. He’s smiling, and he asks again, “Seriously what?”

Noel shakes his head again and chuckles, “You were just looking at me so lovingly dude, post nut has you tripping.”

Cody just stares back in thought for a second, and then flops back onto the bed with an empty laugh. “Yeah dude, sorry”

“So are you guys a thing now?”

That question snaps Noel out of focus as he’s texting Cody back about the podcast. They’ve been home from tour for three days, and haven’t seen each other in person since getting home. 

Spock is looking at him expectantly from beside him on the couch, and Noel doesn’t know how to reply. “Dude… what?”

Spock laughs and Noel feels his cheeks heat up because even though he knows what Spock is asking him, he doesn’t want to admit it. “Noel, seriously? I’ve been here for almost 3 hours and you reread your texts with Cody every 5 minutes.”

“What? We’re just planning when we’ll record!” he insists, but he only gets redder as Spock keeps laughing.

“You guys fucked on tour didn’t you?”

“No oh my fucking god-” he tries to rebutal, but his voice cracks a bit and Spock absolutely loses it. It takes him at least a full minute to calm down from laughing, and Noel just sits with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Noel, holy shit, I was kidding. Really?”

Noel just nods. “It was a long tour. We’re not a thing though.”

“Right. Well no judgment dude, I’m just teasing.”

Noel rolls his eyes. “Appreciate that, but Cody’s the gay one.” Noel regrets it as soon as he says it, and Spock doesn’t say anything. The silence says it for him.

He doesn’t quite know how it happens, but after they’re done with recording the podcast, he ends up with Cody straddling his lap, making out with his hands running through Cody’s long hair. Noel gets so soaked up in the warm, comforting feeling of Cody’s lips pressing against his, the weight pressing him down into the chair that he unintentionally makes a noise of discontent when Cody pulls back. 

“You’re so needy, Noel.”

Noel scoffs. “Yeah right, you’re the one sitting in my lap.”

Cody squirms a bit like he’s about to get up, but Noel drops his hands to his thighs and holds him there with a firm squeeze. Cody sighs in defeat, saying in place, but Noel's hands don’t leave his thighs. “Sooo…” Cody starts, cocking his head to the side with a shy smile.

Noel smiles back, mirroring Cody’s warm expression. “Sooooo, what?”

“Soooo this is a- like a post-tour thing too?” Cody asks, obviously a bit hesitant. Noel feels his expression immediately close up, and only a small sliver of him feels bad about it. He’s equally if not more hesitant to reply, because, god, how does he? On tour there was an excuse to justify their fooling around, but now back at home, where they both had access to dating pools if they chose to seek them out, there was no real reasoning to explain the attraction away.

“Uhm, Noel?”

Cody’s voice snaps Noel out of his own thoughts and back into reality, where the man in his lap had a very anxious look spread over his face. He sighs, and drops his head back onto the top of his chair. Cody reaches up and rests his hands on Noels shoulders, and a part of Noel hates how much it makes him relax. 

“Cody...” Noel starts to say, and he's almost annoyed that Cody doesn't cut him off. He doesn't exactly know where he's going with it, just filling the silence. "I'm not, I'm not like you.. I.."

He hears Cody scoff, and jerks his head back up to look at him. Cody's looking past Noel, an annoyed smirk on his face as he shakes his head. "Please Noel, finish that sentence. We were making out two minutes ago but how aren't you like me?"

Noel makes a noise of irritation and shakes his head. "Cody, I'm not trying to be a dick I just don't fuck with dudes like that."

That comment makes Cody laugh, and he finally shakes Noel off and gets out of his lap.

"I'm not fucking around!" Noel calls after him, standing as Cody grabs his coat and walks out of the room. "Cody!" he calls again, narrowly avoiding the front studio door hitting him as he follows close behind.

"Cody!" he whisper-yells embarrassed by being out on the sidewalk in public, still chasing after him. "Are you really gonna make me chase you?"

With that Cody stops and turns on his heel to face Noel, stopping them in place just outside the parking lot. Noel is stunned by Cody's face, blotchy pink cheeks and watery eyes.

"I forgot what we, what this was for you. That it was just a filler." he says, voice wavering. "But you do not-" he punctuates his point with a finger jabbed at Noels chest, "you don't get to make me out to be some confused teenager. I am past that point. I know what I like and who I am. Do you?"

Noel is left standing on the edge of the parking lot, frozen as he watches Cody climb into his car and slam the door. 

Fuck, they carpooled this morning.

Noel takes the bus home, and gives up his seat halfway through to an old lady. It's harder to focus on his thoughts when he's having to make such an effort to stay upright with all the potholes in the road, and he can't tell if the distraction is a blessing or a curse. 

He thinks about Cody all the way home, thinks about his teary eyes and the hurt so evident in his voice. Hurt that Noel put there. He despises the thought.

What will he do if Cody decides to cut him off completely? No more podcasts, no more videos, no more music. He has enough independent fans to make it on his own, probably, but everything would be so awkward, and generally fucked. 

Even worse, no more Cody. No more breakfast burritos, no more car rides to the studio, no more playful teasing, no more late nights editing, and definitely no more fooling around. No more laying together on the back of the tour bus, or Noel’s couch, or in Cody’s bedroom. 

He could live without fooling around, he realized suddenly. What he really doesn't want to lose is Cody, their friendship, relationship, whatever the fuck it is, he doesn't want to lose those possibilities. 

When he finally gets off the bus, he runs all the way to the building, jogs the stairs to the front step and bangs on the door. He shuffles nervously side to side on the front step, and as he's about to knock again, the door swings open. 

Cody is standing in the doorway wearing sweatpants, a loose t-shirt, his glasses, and a frown. He looks Noel up and down, lacking any warmth. Noel is itching to touch him. “Why are you here?” he asks, voice small.

“I was hoping we could talk?” It comes out far more as a question than Noel intended.

Cody steps onto the landing of his front door, and closes the door behind him, then folds his arms over his chest. He looks at Noel expectantly. Basically spelling out, make it quick, not interested. Noel gets it.

He sighs, “I’m really new to this. You’re the first, the first er-”

“Guy?” Cody finishes for him.

“Yeah, guy. And it scared me. It still sorta does. But I don’t think I’ve ever connected with someone the way I connect with you.”

“You don’t think?”

“I never have Cody. You and me work so well, like even when I’m mad at you, all I want to do is make it better. I hate that this hurts you. I want to make it better.”

He pauses, to try and read Cody’s expression, to no avail. So he keeps talking, looking down at Cody’s pink socks. “I want to try this. Us. I understand if you don’t-”

And he can’t keep going, he doesn’t need to, because Cody pulls him in by the neck of his hoodie and answers his every question with a soft, almost innocent kiss. As if it was their first. 

After moments of soft kisses and delicate touches, Cody pulls back, looking just as flustered as Noel feels. “Do you want to come in for a bit?”

Noel nods, and follows Cody into his apartment. 

The cool breeze of AC welcomes him in from the heat outside, and when he finally presses Cody down onto the couch, it’s so bizzare to think he was ever conflicted.

**Author's Note:**

> i feel like this end is a bit lame so i might edit it later but i wanted to post it anyways! sorry if it’s unsatisfying!!


End file.
